Master of the Madonna Straus (Florence, circa 1385 - 1415) Nativity Upper element of an altarpiece Egg painting and gold ground on a trapezoid poplar panel Nativity, egg tempera and gold ground on a trapezoidal poplar panel, by the Master of the Straus Madonna 18.30 x 13.58 in. 46.5 x 34.5 cm Provenance: Probably from the collection of the Marquise de Villefranche, 19 rue de Vacquerie, according to a label on the reverse; Private collection, Paris Sheltered by a simple wooden framework set on a mighty rock, the infant, swaddled from head to toe, lies in a vat-shaped cradle, watched over by a donkey and an ox. At the top, two flying angels hold hands. On the right, accompanied by two shepherds, one of whom comes forward with clasped hands, the Virgin sits on a red cushion on the floor, praying before the Child. On the left, facing this group, St Joseph sits on the ground, his head resting on his right hand, meditating on the event. The holy figures are distinguished by the golden halo they wear. The Master of the Straus Madonna, who worked in Florence at the end of the 14th century, owes his conventional name to the Virgin and Child in the Percy S. Straus collection in New York, donated to the Museum of Fine Arts. Straus collection, donated to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 1944 (inv. 44.565). The catalogue of this painter, of whom only one work dated 1405 is known, the Man of Sorrows (preserved in Warsaw), initially reconstructed by Roberto Longhi1 and subsequently enhanced by Richard Offner2 and Miklos Boskovits3, places the artist in the entourage of Agnolo Gaddi's workshop, under the joint influence of Spinello Aretino. Around 1400-1410, his style evolved towards a more ethereal and refined style, close to Starnina and Lorenzo Monaco, heralding the international Gothic style. For the majority of critics, this artist remains anonymous, although Sonia Chiodo has attempted to identify him in the person of Ambrogio di Baldese4. Other works by this master show a return to the Giottesque tradition. The Madonna of Houston (c. 1390-1395) is a significant example, with the monumentality of its figures tempered by measured expressivity. The same is true of The Nativity (Salamon collection, Milan)5 , which is associated with the Adoration of the Magi in Seattle6 , and which Boskovits places at the beginning of the painter's career. This ensemble is based on models by Taddeo Gaddi, notably those in the Baroncelli chapel in Santa Croce in Florence, as well as related works such as the Berlin triptych (nos. 1079-1081) and the panel in the Thyssen collection in Madrid (1979.14). It is a similar composition that the Master of the Madonna Straus uses in our panel, whose spatial construction and monumental figures are reminiscent of the legacy of the early Trecento around the 1390s. However, a less incisive drawing and formal simplification suggest the intervention of an assistant, whose personality is particularly evident in the meditative figure of Saint Joseph. 1. Roberto Longhi, Pinacotheca, I, 1928, p. 34, no. 2 reprinted in Opere complete, vol. IV, p.21-36 2. Richard Offner, "Mostra del Tesoro di Firenze Sacra", The Burlington Magazine, 1933, vol. 63, p. 169-170, no. 4 3. Miklos Boskovits, La Pittura fiorentina alla vigilia del Rinascimento, Florence, 1975, pp. 362-366, figs. 462-473e 4. Cf. Sonia Chiodo, "Pittori attivi in San Stefano al Ponte", Paragone, 49, March 1998, pp. 48-79. It is also under the name "Ambrogio di Baldese" that works by this artist appear in the Fondation Zeri photo library. 5. Milan, former Bagnarelli collection. Please refer to the photo library of the Fondazione Zeri, Fototeca no. 10110. 6. Fern Rusk Shapley, Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, Italian Paintings thirteenth to fourteenth century, London, 1966, p. 41, fig. 103. Master of the Madonna Straus (Florence, circa 1385 - 1415) 46.5 x 34.5 cm